Faith in the fire

The story as to how the sacred fire of the Persians came to be named Adar Gushasp makes interesting reading. When King Kaikhushru was busy destroying idols of Darwands at the Lake Chaechast and it had become dark, it appeared to him that a thunderbolt from heaven was on the mane of his horse and suddenly lit up the whole area, which facilitated the task of destroying the idols. In Persian, ‘gush’ means ear and ‘asp’ means a horse. This incident happened near the Ashnavant mountain. At the same spot, on the Ashnavant mountain, King Kaikhushru enthroned, in an atash kadeh, the holy fire and named it Adar Gushasp. Since the fire appeared to the King near the ear of the horse, it was so named. (Source: Bundehesh, Ch. 17.7, P. 41-13). There is a reference to this fire in the Bahman Yasht, where it is called Vishnasp. The well-known scholar Rawlinson states that the Iranian emperors used to go "on foot” to pay their obeisance to the atash kadeh. From the book Saddar, it appears that Adar Gushasp was a much greater and venerated fire than Adar Burzin Meher and Adar Faroba.

The immortal bard of Iran, Firdausi Tusi, in the Shahnameh, corroborates the story of Bundehesh in the Shahnameh, but, as a prelude, adds that King Kaus was in a dilemma as to who should succeed him. If he named his son Fariburz to succeed him, Kaikhushru would be hurt that he was denied the throne as his father had died earlier. The King thereupon told both that whoever conquered the strong fort of Dahe Behman, which according to Rawlinson was later known as Takht-i-Soleiman, would become the king. This fort was the stronghold of the idol worshippers. Fariburz tried first but was not successful. When Kaikhushru tried, because of the thunderbolt he succeeded in capturing the fort. Kaikhushru had a palace constructed in close proximity to the atash kadeh and used to often walk on foot to offer his prayers to Adar Gushasp.

When Homai, the daughter of King Behman abdicated her throne in favor of her son Sorab, she retired to the atash kadeh of Adar Gushasp and spent the remainder of her life in praying before the sacred fire.

The Sassanian King Behramgur was a great devotee of this atash kadeh. When he won the battle against the Khakan of China, he went to this atash kadeh, prayed, gave liberal gifts to the mobeds and the worshippers and returned, with great pomp and prestige, to Istakhar, Persepolis. Firdausi states that the king ordered his troops to bring the crown of the Khakan of Chin and had all the gems and jewels removed to decorate the walls of the atash kadeh.

Several years after the battle with the Khakan of Chin, Behramgur went, incognito, to India and stayed in the palace of King Shaugil. He fell in love with the King’s beautiful daughter Sapinud. He took her to Iran, to the atash kadeh of Adar Gushasp and a mobed, who had himself gone through the Barasnum ceremony, gave her the holy nahan (bath) and ceremoniously accepted her in the Zarathushtrian faith. Firdausi adds that the King bestowed wealth on the Darvishas and the needy. The well-reputed historian Tabari states the elderly queen of the Khakan of Chin, whom Behramgur had captured and brought to Iran, was sent to the atash kadeh of Adar Gushasp to serve as a cleaner. Tabavi, who wrote his magnum opus in 914 AD authoritatively states that during his time, Adar Gushasp was not burning. Shams-ul-ulema Sir Jivanji Jamshedji Modi, in his excellent booklet in Gujarati entitled Aadar Gushasp, printed in 1893, states that in the later part of the ninth century, at a time when Islam was spreading, this venerated fire, after burning uninterrupted for several centuries, must have been extinguished.

Capt HORMAZDIAR J. M. DESAI